Expansion rail joint



H. s. CLARKE 2,067,598

EXPANSION RAIL JOINT Filed July 29, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet l um.) mv;

V/ll INVENTOR 15G/'56212 ,S (Zar/6e..

@4a/tm' /f/) ATTORNEYS Nm. mm.

MMI KN Q `Ian. 12, 1937.

Jan. l2, 1937. H. s. CLARKE EXPANSION RAIL JOINT Filed July 29, 1955 s sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Jam 12, 1937. H. s. CLARKE l EXPANSION RAIL JOINT Filed July 29, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1A VENTOR, r? 5' (Zar/f6.

TTORNFVS lfr Patented `lan. l2, 1.937

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EXPANSION RAIL JOINT Application July 29, 1935, Serial No. 33,715

9 Claims.

The invention relates in general to railway track equipment, and more particularly to expansion joints for taking care of considerable relative longitudinal movements between adjoining sections of track. Such expansion joints are used, for example, at the ends of. long bridges and at the ends of long sections of welded track and also at other locations where there is likely to be considerable creepage of the rail due to temperature changes or other causes.

1 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the expansion joint comprises a point rail land a stock rail resting upon a sliding plate which in turn rests upon a base plate supported by the ties. The point rail may be ixedly secured to the sliding plate and the stock rail may be slidably mounted in a guideway secured to the sliding plate. The guideway is arranged to hold the body ,of the stock rail along the same gauge line as the point rail, while the end of the stock rail is exed laterally out of said gauge line, slidably resting against the outer face of the point rail.

Thus, either rail is free to move a considerable distance in either direction relative to the road bed and the rails are free to move relative to each. other. The arrangement is such that the gauge of the track at all points along the expansion joint remains constant and continuous support along the expansion joint is obtained for the rolling stock in all positions of adjustment of the joint.

The invention also consists in certain new and original features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself, as to its objects and advantages, and the manner in which it may be carried out, may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection `with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the expansion joint;

Fig. 2-6, inclusive, are sections taken along lthe lines 2-2, 3--3, 4 4, 5-5 and 6--B, respectively, illustrating the construction at various points along the length of the expansion joint.

, In the following description and in the claims, various details will be identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application as the art will permit. Y

(Cl. 23S-171) Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specication, certain specific disclosure of the invention is made for purposes of 5 explanation, but it will be understood that the details may be modified in various respects without departure from the broad aspect of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, the conven- 14) tional wooden railway ties are indicated by Ill, these ties supporting a base plate II held down by screw bolts I2 in a manner well known in the art. Mounted on the base plate II is a sliding plate I3 held in position on its longitudi- 15 nal edges by a longer guide I4 and a shorter guide I5. The guides I4 and I5 have overhanging flanges disposed over the sliding plate I3 and are secured to the base plate by a series of bolts I6.

For permitting the sliding plate I3 to easily slide on the base plate I I, the former is provided with a network of intersecting grease grooves I8 which communicate with a series of high pressure grease ttings screwed into, the upper 25 surface of the sliding plate I3 by which the plates may be lubricated with a suitable high pressure grease gun. The high pressure grease fittings have been omitted, and the network of grease grooves has not been illustrated in Fig, 30 1, for purposes of simplicity of illustration.

If desired, the expansion joint may be tipped slightly toward the other rail of the track. For this purpose, inclined seats may be cut in the top surface of the ties I0 sloping from the lowest 35 part of the seat, indicated by I9, upwardly and outwardly toward the end of the ties at an angle to horizontal, of, say, 1 in 40 to l in 20, as may be desired.

The point rail 20 is made from a standard T- 40 rail. It is bent inwardly at the pointed end of the rail and has its head 24 planed along its -gauge side to provide uniform track gauge. The

outer side of the head 24 and base flange 23 opposite the gauge side is machined away, as illustrated especially in Figs. 3 and 4, to provide a generally curved surface to ride against the fixed end of the relatively movable stock rail 26.

It will be noted particularly from Fig. 3 that the web 2| directly underlies the head 24 at the 50 extreme tip 22 of the point rail 20. It will be, furthermore, noted from Fig. 3 that the top surface of the tip 22 is machined to lie below the top surface of the stock rail 26 and that the top surface of the head 24 gradually slopes up- 56 wardly away from the tip 22 through the position shown in Fig. 4, thence to the normal unmachined top even with the top surface of stock rail 26, as indicated in Fig. 5.

The point rail 20 seats in a recessed seat 31 in the sliding plate I3 and is rigidly secured to the sliding plate I3 by a ange brace 30, auxiliary braces 3| and 32 .and a tip brace 33. 'I'he iiange brace 36 overlies the base flange 23 and is secured to the sliding plate I3 by suitable bolts, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 5, the auxiliary brace 3| is suitably webbed for strength and is bolted to the sliding plate I3 by bolts 34 and snugly engages the fishing surfaces on the head 24 and iiange 23 as indicated. A series of bolts 36 bolt the auxiliary brace 3| and a spacer block 35 to the point rail 20. It will 'be noted especially from Fig. 1 that the top surface of spacer block 35, remote from the tip 22, is beveled.

Referring to Fig. 4, the auxiliary brace 32,

,similar in construction to brace 3|, is bolted to the sliding plate I3 by bolts 34 and is bolted to the point rail 20 and to a filler block 318 by bolts 39.

Referring to Fig. 3, the tip brace 33 has two sections, one rigidly secured to the point rail and the other slidably engaging the stock rail 26. The tip brace is rigidly secured tothe sliding plate I3 by bolts 34 and the one section is secured to the point rail 20 and to the filler block 38 by bolts 39.

The stock rail 26 is also a standard T-rail having its head 42 undercut, as at 43, all the way along from the point 46 to the end of the rail to permit making the tip 22 of the, point rail heavier than would be possible were 'the head 42 not undercut. The ange 44 of' the stock rail 26 slidably rests in the'seat 31 of the sliding plate I3 and is cut away on its inner side from the point 46 all the way to the end of the rail to lt the machined surface ori the point rail 20. The extreme end of the stock rail 26 is machined :off as indicated by 45.

The stock rail 26 is iiexible laterally and is slidable lengthwise between the point rail 2l) and the filler blocks 35 and 38, tip brace 33 and auxiliary brace 41 on the one hand, and main brace 48 and auxiliary braces 49 and 50 on the other hand.

'I'he main brace 48 (Fig. 3) is suitably webbed for strength and is rigidly secured to the sliding plate I3 by bolts `5I and slidably engages the fishing surfaces of stock rail 26, as indicated in Fig. 3.

The auxiliary braces `41 and 50 (Fig. 2) are also suitably webbed for strength and are secured to the sliding plate I3 by bolts 5I and also slidably engage the fishing surfaces .of the stock rail 26. Auxiliary brace 49 is similar in construction to auxiliary brace 50 and also is rigidly secured to the sliding plate I3 and slidably engages the shing surfaces of the stock rail 26.

If desired, the sections rigidly secured together may be reenforced by welding. Welding 60 may be provided between the outer way I5 and the base plate II. If desired, the welding may be omitted on the corresponding inner way I4 which does not have to withstand as'niuch stress as the outer way I5. Also welding 6I, 62 and 63 may be provided between the braces 3|, 32 and 33 and the sliding plate I3 as indicated. Also welding, indicated by 64 and 65, may be provided between the point rail 29 and the sliding plate I3. Also welding 66 and 61 may be provided between the filler block 38 (Figs. 3 and 4) and the point rail 20, the filler block being recessed, if desired, to accommodate the welding.

Thus an expansion joint is provided which is rugged in construction and which will stand up for long periods of service. The expansion joint is capable yof general application at any point where there is likely to be considerable creepage of the rail. For example, the expansion joint may be used at the ends of long bridges or at the ends of long sections of welded track to take care of the accumulated expansion and contraction which would ordinarily be spread along the length of the track by the ordinary .individual rail joints between rails. The expansion joint permits the independent movement of the rail point 20 and of the stock rail 26, together with the rails attached thereto, in either direction relative to the road bed. For example, the expansion joint will accommodate movement of either rail, or both, of sixteen inches or more in either direction.

The auxiliary braces 41, 49 and 50, main brace 48, tip brace 33.-point rail 20, iiller blocks 35 and 38 and the recessed seat 31, all form in eiect a guideway for the stock rail. 'I'his guideway holds the straight portion of the stock rail with its gauge line in line with the gauge line of the point rail and bends or deiiects the end of the stock rail from its normal straight condition. As the point rail and stock rail move relatively to each other, the stock rail *slides longitudinally inthe above-mentioned guideway, causing parts of the stock rail toY straighten out as they move to the right of the tip brace 33 (Fig. l), and to deiiect laterally as they move to the left of the tip brace. Thus the expansion joint has a constant track gauge throughout the length thereof yand provides constant support between the point and stock rails, irrespective of movement of the rails longitudinally. In other words, movement of the rails does not produce any gap nor any change in track gauge.

The expansion joint may be used in both rails of a railway track. If the track handles oneway traic only, the expansion joints may be arranged so that both point rails trail the traffic,

in which case no guard rails are necessary. Ine

this case, the expansion joints will be made in rights and lefts. If the track must handle traic in both directions there is no particular advantage in using rights and lefts. In this case,

the expansion joints may be spaced along thelength of the track with the point rails in opposite directions and with a 'guard .rail opposite each point to hold the wheel flanges away from the points. Y

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosed and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood that Various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. l'

What is claimed is:

1. In an expansion rail joint, a fixed support, a slidable support thereon, a point rail affixed to said slidable support, a guideway affixed to said slidable support and having a straight portion:

in line with said point railkand a deflected portion extending along the outer sideof said point rail, and a laterally flexible rail longitudinally slidable in said guideway.

2. In an expansion rail joint, a fixed supportfl a slidable support thereon, a point rail afllxed to said slidable support, a guideway aixed to said slidable support and having a straight portion in line with said point rail and a deiiected portion extending along the outer side of said point rail, and a laterally flexible rail longitudinally slidable in said guideway, said guideway including braces and parts attached to said point rail overlying the base ange of said flexible rail.

3. In a track structure, a iixed support, a slidable support thereon, a point rail on said slidable support, a stock rail on said slidable support and having a straight portion in line with said point rail and a deflected portion extending along the outer side of said point rail, one of said rails being slidable lengthwise of itself with respect to said sliding support, the other of said rails being fixed lengthwise of itself on said support.

4. In combination, a xed plate, a sliding plate resting on said xed plate, a point rail xedly mounted in said sliding plate, a ller block secured to the outer side of said point rail, the outer side of said ller block and of said point rail describing a gradual curve, a exible rail resting on said sliding plate and having a laterally exible end overlapping and fitting said point rail, braces secured to said sliding plate and slidably fitting the opposite sides of the body of said flexible rail, an end brace secured to said sliding plate and to the inner side of said point rail, and an end brace opposite said ller block secured to said sliding plate and slidably fitting said exible rail.

5. In an expansion rail joint, a fixed plate, a sliding platefresting on said xed plate and having a depressed seat, a point rail xedly mounted in said seat, a tip brace at the tip of said point rail, an auxiliary brace spaced from said tip brace, said tip brace and said auxiliary brace being secured to said slidable plate and to said pointrail, a filler block secured to the outer side of said point rail, the outer side of said ller block` and of said point rail describing a gradual curve, a exible rail resting in said seat and having a laterally exible end overlapping and iittingV 'said point rail, oppositely disposed braces secured to said sliding plate and slidably fitting the body of said iiexible rail, a main brace secured to said sliding plate slidably fitting said flexible rail opposite said tip brace, said tip brace slidably tting said flexible rail, and an end brace opposite said ller block secured to said sliding plate and slidably fitting said exible rail.

6. In an expansion rail joint, a fixed plate overlying a considerable number of ties and having opposed holddown ways, a sliding plate in said ways resting on said fixed plate and having a depressed seat, a point rail flxedly mounted in said seat, a tip brace at the tip of said point rail having offset rst and second portions, auxiliary braces spaced from said tip brace, said tip brace and said auxiliary braces being secured to said slidable plate, said first offset portion and said auxiliary braces being secured to said point rail, filler blocks secured to the outer side of said point rail, the outer sides of said filler blocks and of said point rail describing a gradual curve, a stock rail resting in said seat and having a laterally flexible end overlapping said point rail, said exible end having the inner side of its head undercut and the inner side of its base iiange cut away to fit the point rail, oppositely disposed braces secured to said sliding plate and slidably fitting the body of said stock rail, a main brace secured to said sliding plate slidably fitting said stock rail opposite said tip brace, said second offset portion slidably iitting said stock rail, and an end brace opposite said ller blocks secured to said sliding plate and slidably tting said stock rail.

7. In an expansion rail joint, a large plate, a point rail fixedly mounted on said plate, a filler block secured to the outer side of said point rail, a exible rail resting on said plate and having a flexible end overlapping and tting said point rail and filler block, and braces secured to said plate and slidably tting the opposite sides of said flexible rail.

8. In an expansion rail joint, a supporting member having a guideway, a point rail fixedly mounted on said supporting member, a flexible rail slidable in said guideway and having a flexible end overlapping said point rail, said guideway extending a considerable distance on opposite sides of the tip of said point rail to hold said point rail and flexible rail in proper relation.

9. In an expansion rail joint, a plate having a depressed seat, a point rail xedly mounted in said seat, a tip brace at the tip of said point rail, an auxiliary brace spaced from said tip brace, said tip brace and said auxiliary brace being secured to said plate and to said point rail, a filler block secured to the outer side of said point rail, a flexible rail resting in said seat and having a laterally flexible end overlapping and tting said point rail, oppositely disposed braces secured to said plate and slidably fitting the body of said iiexible rail, a main brace secured to said plate slidably fitting said exible rail opposite said tip brace, said tip brace slidably tting said exible rail, and an end brace opposite said filler block secured to said plate and slidably fitting said flexible rail.

HERBERT S. CLARKE. 

